Victims Of Peer Aggression Research Articles

Is it my fault? The role of the feeling of guilt in adolescent peer victimization.

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between feelings of guilt, peer victimization in school, and loneliness based on adolescents' gender. A total of 671 Spanish students (50.7% boys), aged 10-16 years old (M = 13.04, SD = 1.80) from six public primary and secondary schools participated in the study. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (3 × 2) was calculated. Adolescents with high levels of guilt presented greater physical, verbal, and relational victimization, as well as higher levels of loneliness. In addition, boys high in guilt had the highest scores in overt physical victimization, while girls high in guilt had the highest levels of loneliness. Results obtained suggest that adolescents with greater feelings of guilt feel responsible for being victims of peer aggression and for feeling lonely. These findings suggest the need to address the feeling of guilt, taking into account the gender perception.

School-based Mentoring in Secondary Education: Its Effect on School Climate and Aggression Among Peers

Background: School-based mentoring provided by teachers contributes to the ultimate goal of education: all-round student development and a good mutual coexistence. Aims: This study investigates secondary school students’ perceptions of a school climate and school-based mentoring provided by teachers; it also examines the relationship between the school climate and peer aggression, and the moderating effect that teacher-led school mentoring could have on this relationship. Methodology: A total of 441 students between 12 and 17 years old ( M = 13.99, SD = 1.33) were surveyed in Cantabria (Spain); the high schools were selected by means of a random sampling of two-stage clusters. Findings: The results demonstrated a direct negative relationship between a school climate and school-based mentoring with respect to peer aggression victimization. Likewise, mentoring showed a moderating effect on the relationship between a school climate and peer aggression victimization. Further implications: These findings highlight the importance of the school climate in preventing peer aggression and the central role that school-based mentoring plays in the relationship between a school climate and peer aggression victimization.

Increased aggressive behavior among youth in the United States who have experienced multiple forms of victimization.

Victims of peer aggression, categorized broadly as face-to-face aggression (FA) and/or cyber-aggression (CA), are themselves at elevated risk for perpetrating aggressive behavior against others. Studies to date have not formally examined whether experiencing multiple forms of FA or CA is associated with even further increased likelihood of aggressive behavior towards others. Data from the 2014 National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence III were analyzed for youth aged 10-17. Based on self-report responses regarding past-year experience, two broad victimization categories were defined: FA (verbal/relational aggression and/or physical assault/intimidation and/or property victimization) and CA (Internet harassment and/or cell-phone harassment). Logistic regression adjusting for age, sex and race/ethnicity compared victim sub-groups against corresponding non-victims with respect to self-report of aggressive behaviors towards others. The sample (n = 1959) was 51.3% male and 77.5% White; 39.6% reported >1 form of FA and 7.9% reported >1 form of CA. Whereas victims of physical assault/intimidation or property damage were more likely than non-victims to perpetrate aggression [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 4.44 and 5.17, respectively), victims of both were strikingly at greatest risk (aOR = 20.29). Similarly, victims of Internet harassment or cell-phone harassment were more likely than non-victims to perpetrate aggression (aORs = 6.18 and 9.40, respectively), while victims of both were even more likely (aOR = 15.32). Students who experienced >1 form of both FA and CA were the most likely to engage in aggressive behaviors (aOR = 38.03). Victims of multiple forms of FA or CA are more likely to perpetrate aggression compared to non-victims and those victimized in fewer ways.

Victimized for Being Different: Young Adults With Disabilities and Peer Victimization in Middle and High School.

Children who are victims of peer aggression can suffer negative emotional, academic and physical consequences that can last into adulthood. Previous research indicates children with disabilities are victimized up to 4 times as often as children without disabilities. However, their unique needs are often not considered in the design and implementation of prevention interventions. The current study examined the perceived effects of family, peer, and school support among children with disabilities to protect them from or help them cope with peer victimization. In this retrospective study, college students registered with a university Disability Resource Center (n = 161) completed an electronic survey about their recollections of peer victimization and of factors that protected them during middle and high school. Three subscales of the Social and Emotional Health Survey measured perception of family, peer, and school support. In open-ended questions, students described instances of peer victimization and of protection. Results indicated that two thirds of participants experienced peer victimization. The most frequently reported type of aggression was relational, followed by verbal. Frequency of victimization did not differ by gender. Most participants experienced victimization related to their disabilities or related to a combination of disability with another personal characteristic. Participants who reported higher levels of family and peer support experienced significantly less peer victimization. Coping with victimization took many forms such as withdrawing from peers, listening to music, and mental health treatment. Unexpectedly, some participants reported disability-related victimization from school staff. Findings highlight the high frequency of victimization and the value of educating parents, school personnel, and other students on strategies to support students with disabilities. These strategies could be incorporated into prevention programs.

Social-Cognitive Moderators of the Relationship between Peer Victimization and Suicidal Ideation among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents

Peer victimization among children and adolescents is a major public health concern, given its widespread individual and societal ramifications. Victims of peer aggression often face significant levels of psychological distress and social difficulties, such as depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and social rejection. The purpose of this study was to examine whether cognitive distortions and perceptions of social support moderate the association between peer victimization and suicidal thoughts among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Participants included 183 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (ages 13 to 18). In multiple regression analyses that controlled for gender, social and cognitive factors served as significant resource factors. Cognitive factors also moderated the relationship between peer victimization and suicidal ideation.

Self-Reported Peer Victimization: Concordance and Discordance Between Measures of Bullying and Peer Aggression Among Swedish Adolescents

The current study examined concordance and discordance between a measure of bullying and measures of peer aggression with respect to the number of students identified as victims. Swedish adolescents (N = 1,760) completed a web-based questionnaire. A measure of bullying and measures of peer aggression were compared in order to elucidate the unique contribution of each measure as well as the overlap: 13% of students who experienced peer victimization reported only bullying, 44% reported only repeated peer aggression, and 43% reported both. Concordance was further elucidated by phi-square coefficient tests revealing that 18% of the variance in either measure was accounted for by the other measure. Given recent research showing similar associations with mental health for bullying and peer aggression victimization, it is suggested that questions about peer aggression as well as bullying should be used simultaneously in order to capture the prevalence and full magnitude of peer victimization.

Parental strategies and trajectories of peer victimization in 4 to 5 year olds

This study was designed to examine how parental strategies contribute to explaining trajectories of peer victimization in young children. A total of 73 4 and 5 year old children identified as victims of peer aggression in the fall semester and their parents were recruited from 46 classrooms in 18 schools in the Netherlands. All children were followed-up twice in order to determine for whom victimization was stable. Hypothetical vignettes describing various forms of victimization were presented to one parent of each child in order to assess parental responses to victimization events. Findings indicated that autonomy supporting and autonomy neutral strategies were associated with a decrease of victimization in the first semester of the school year. No protective effects were found in the second semester. Autonomy undermining strategies were not related to the course of peer victimization. These findings underscore the importance of joint and coordinated efforts of teachers and parents as partners in supporting victimized young children at school.

Differences between peer victimization in cyber and physical settings and associated psychosocial adjustment in early adolescence

AbstractThe increasing use of cyberspace as a social networking forum creates a new medium for youth to become victims of peer aggression. This study used factor analysis techniques to confirm whether survey questions about frequency of cyber victimization formed a distinct latent construct from questions about relational and overt victimization information in a large (N = 1,665) sample of middle school students. A secondary goal was to relate experiences of cyber victimization to symptoms of depression and social anxiety. Results indicate that cyber victimization is separate latent factor from overt and relational victimization. Experiences of cyber victimization were weakly associated with symptoms of social anxiety, but not depression. These results signify that cyber victimization deserves future empirical and clinical attention. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Young Children's Prosocial and Aggressive Behaviors and Their Experiences of Being Targeted for Similar Behaviors by Peers

AbstractChildren's target experiences (as recipients of prosocial peer acts and victims of peer aggression) were investigated for their concurrent and longitudinal associations with prosocial and aggressive behavior. Forty‐four children (initially 22–40 months) were observed in naturalistic interactions with peers during a two‐month period for each of three consecutive years. Results revealed no consistency over time in children's experiences as targets for aggressive or prosocial peer acts, although there was some indication that altruistic target experiences may be stable from the end of the preschool period. Early behavior appeared to affect the way children were later treated by peers, but no support was found for the idea that early target experiences influence later behavior. Prosocial behavior was concurrently and longitudinally associated with prosocial target experiences. Aggressive behavior reduced the likelihood of children being targets of prosocial peer behavior and, over time, also of their being targets of peers’ aggression.

Identification of Aggressive and Asocial Victims and the Stability of Their Peer Victimization

Despite the awareness that victims of peer aggression are a behaviorally heterogeneous group of children, current classification procedures limit the number of variables that may be used to identify victim subtypes. Findings from this study, which followed 379 racially diverse children (50% female) from kindergarten to 3rd grade, demonstrated the utility of cluster analysis to classify children using several criteria: teacher-rated aggressiveness and asocial tendencies and self-reported peer victimization. Specifically, four subtypes of victims were identified: nonaggressive nonasocial; aggressive; asocial; and both aggressive and asocial. Group differences in the stability of victimization are discussed. Moreover, early levels of aggression predicted increases in victimization and chronicity; the role of asocial behavior was less clear. While more aggressive victims were rejected by their peers than nonaggressive nonasocial victims, victims who were rejected, regardless of behavioral tendencies, were more likely to remain victimized than their better accepted counterparts. Developmental trends are discussed.

Identifying victims of peer aggression from early to middle childhood: analysis of cross-informant data for concordance, estimation of relational adjustment, prevalence of victimization, and characteristics of identified victims.

Two studies were conducted to investigate cross-informant measures of children's peer victimization. In Study 1, self- and peer reports of victimization were compared for 197 children from Kindergarten (M age = 5.73) to Grade 4. Before Grade 2, peer reports were less reliable than self-reports and were poor estimators of relational adjustment. In Study 2, single- versus multiple-informant (self, peer, teacher, parent) victimization measures were compared for 392 children across grades 2 (M age = 8.73) to 4. Results indicated that (a) data from the four informants were reliable and increasingly concordant over time, (b) no single-informant measure proved to be the best predictor of relational adjustment, and (c) a multi-informant composite measure yielded better estimates of relational adjustment than any single-informant measure.

Social competence in children with social adjustment disorders

Teachers and parents of a sample of 1774 students at three grade levels (4th, 6th and 8th grades) were asked to judge the social competence of the children by means of the social competence questionnaire by Buhrmester et al. (1988). These ratings were correlated with the social status of the pupils, with peer statements on aggressive behavior and victimization and with the teachers' ratings of behavior in class and towards fellow pupils. Teachers proved to be more critical than parents, crediting boys with less social competence than girls, though this difference diminished in the higher grades. Ratings of social competence differed significantly both with regard to respective social status, as well as to frequent involvement in aggressive disputes as reported by peers. Children rated by the teachers as hyperactive were no less socially competent than aggressive or aggressive-hyperactive children. Victims of peer aggression and particularly shy and withdrawn children were rated the least socially competent by parents and teachers. Implications for the training of the social skills of children with peer relationship problems are discussed.

Victims of peer aggression.

Victims of peer aggression.

Victims of peer aggression.

Victims of peer aggression.